Chapter 2: Exposed
Exposed is the second chapter of the Nononono manga. Synopsis In a modest house near the woods, Nono finishes up her bath and gazes at a plaque on the wall. The reflective plaque gives her a view of herself, and she notes with disappointment that she's growing more feminine as she gets older. She feels she should be happy about it, but her wish to keep ski jumping means she can't be as feminine as she'd like. She puts on her chest binder and her new school's male uniform, all the while telling herself she has to keep her secret, as her goal is far too important to let it her secret be exposed. At her new high school, the entrance ceremony is underway when Nono, referred to by everyone as Nonomiya Yuuta, is called up to the stage to represent the incoming first years due to her high testing scores. Nono is utterly mortified to be under the scrutiny of everyone in attendance, and girls in the crowd of students note this new boy is incredibly pretty and "bishounen." Another girl takes special notice of her. Later, in the classroom, Nono's classmates, male and female alike, comment both on the looks and smarts of their new classmate. One male classmate even says it's a shame the new addition is a boy, leading Nono to fret since she's standing out so much. She can't get anymore visibly embarrassed either, she tells herself, or else she'll look even more girlish. Down the hall from the classroom, the girl from before, Mikage Kourogi, is approached by another student while walking with her friends. He asks her for an autograph for his sister, and Mikage sighs, saying he's the 23rd person to use their family as an excuse to talk to her. She apologizes, as the principal has forbid her from giving autographs at school, and says she's already found "something worthwhile." In her classroom, Nono puzzles over how to appear more masculine and surmises she should make male friends, but she can't handle dealing with men very well. Her thoughts are interrupted by Mikage, who commends "Yuuta's" high test scores and giggles since she's found someone up to par with her standards. She asks Nono to be her boyfriend, but Nono immediately says "No, that's okay." Mikage and the other students nearby are shocked, and Mikage quietly asks what she means. Nono, thinking her answer wasn't clear enough, and flat out says "I refuse" to get the message across. While her male classmates comment on the nature of the outright rejection, Mikage asks if Nono knows who she is and how many guys she's turned down before now. She leaves in tears and tells Nono to remember she's the first who's ever humiliated her. After Mikage leaves, Nono wonders if she should apologize for refusing her so bluntly later, and is promptly complimented by her male classmates over shooting Mikage down. They then ask why she came all the way to Nagano from Hokkaido, and the rest of the break goes by with Nono slowly warming up to her new class. However, during a bathroom break, Nono accidentally walks into the girl's restroom. She berates herself for being so careless considering her disguise, and heads to the boys' restroom. Nervous about being in the restroom of the opposite sex, she goes to a stall, groaning as she tries to avoid looking at the boys using the urinals. When she returns to class, her new friends ask if she was nervous from the opening ceremony and make fun of her for her urgency in needing to use the restroom and the noises she was making while going to the stall. Nono is embarrassed at what they say and inwardly remarks how much she hates guys. Elsewhere, Yoda and another man converse about the record "Yuuta" broke. Yoda stresses how urgent it is they find this kid since they know his name, as a kid with such an "intense aura" can't hide forever. Back at school, Nono impresses the girls in gym with her basketball skills, and the girls happily scream out praise for her, calling her "Yuuta-sama." Her male classmates are baffled at how popular she is on the second day of school, and ask Nono how high she can jump since they're confused as to how someone who's only 160cm tall could jump so high. Nono pauses, then replies that she can jump up about 140cm. After gym, she tries to find a private place to change clothes, as she obviously can't change in the locker room with the other boys. She ducks into the Home Ed. preparation closet to change, but only succeeds in getting her shorts off before Mikage opens the other door into the closet. Mikage's classmate asks if she's found the towels yet, but she doesn't answer, as she's busy staring at "Yuuta" and the girls panties "he's" wearing. Trivia * One of the girls accompanying Mikage physically resembles Nozomi of the Elfen Lied manga.